Due to the closure of the Waldorf Astoria, the DCAT Week headquarters have moved to the InterContinental Barclay. Three member lounges will be available at the InterContinental, Omni, and Palace Hotels.

Additionally, the New York Hilton will be the new home of the organization’s gala black-tie Annual Dinner held on the Thursday night of DCAT Week. “For the first time in many years, all our members and their guests will be in a single ballroom adding to the festive and collegial atmosphere​,” said Timony.

DCAT has also introduced the DCAT Week Mobile App, which allows attendees to search for DCAT member company meeting space locations, communicate with other attendees, access the DCAT Week program and event schedule, and receive event notifications.

“The programs address those issues most significant to the DCAT membership—innovator and generic drug manufacturers and suppliers of ingredients, development and manufacturing services, and related technologies​,” he added.

A new Executive Forum, featuring John LaMattina, the former Senior VP at Pfizer Inc., will address the macro issues influencing drug development and commercialization strategies, such as the impact of healthcare reform, drug pricing and the payer environment, and R&D productivity. The forum is part of a new Pharma Industry Outlook​ program.

“Emerging pharma companies, meaning smaller companies with fewer drug candidates or commercial products, are an important part of the market, whether as a customer base for suppliers or as a partnering source for larger pharmaceutical companies​,” said Vavala.

“Emerging pharma companies generally have limited in-house capabilities and are more reliant on external partners in development and manufacturing​,” she added.

The program will look at a few key trends, including financing, innovation in project management, and the role manufacturing plays in investor valuations.

In total, there will be six education programs at DCAT Week ’17.

“The programs will address other key issues: the levels of pharma outsourcing; the future direction of pharma sourcing and procurement; investment trends in capacity and technology for biomanufacturing; and make-versus-buy decisions for emerging technologies, such as continuous manufacturing for solid dosage products and advanced drug delivery​,” said Murdoch.